Last Friday night we had a date night and had the pleasure of attending the opening night of The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s latest production, “The Comedy of Errors”. As soon as we entered the lobby we could tell it was going to be a festive evening. The lobby was decked out in carnival decorations, the bartenders wore costume accessories, and everyone was laughing and talking excitedly. The pre-show lobby on opening night is always like a party, there are free appetizers and complimentary beer and wine as well and there’s always a certain buzz in the air as everyone waits to enter the theatre. The bartender always creates a specialty drink for each show, and they are always a treat. For this show she was serving “Circe’s Cup” a concoction of Salted Caramel Vodka, Butterscotch Schnapps and Cream Soda. It was heavenly. After we procured our cocktails we entered the theatre, or should I say, we entered the Carnival. The set was designed to replicate a Carnival in the 1930’s and as always, the Cincy Shakes company makes the most of their limited stage space. The set was enchanting!
The play begins with opening remarks from a clown, reminding folks to turn off the phones and encouraging people to buy subscriptions to the theatre (which I also highly recommend). After the clown wraps things up the show is off and running. The story moves along very quickly, and there will be no nodding off because you’ll be giggling so much and trying to keep up with who is who in the play. There are two sets of twins to keep up with, and the actors portray the two sets of brothers so well that you can almost believe that they are truly related. The confusion caused by the twins sets off a hilarious chain of events with the women in their lives, and the people of the resort area where the story takes place. Watching this show I almost forgot exactly how old “The Comedy of Errors” is, because they brought it to life and made you believe that we were in the 1930’s, not the 1500’s, which is when the play was written by the esteemed Mr. Shakespeare. I had never read this work from Shakespeare, so the story was completely new to me, and I thought it was hilarious. Michael and I both snickered and laughed our way through the show. It wasn’t just a run of the mill comedy though, with the delightful set and unique side show characters, and all of the family drama & confusion caused by the twins the show was intriguing and captivating to watch unfold.
If you are looking for a date night out, or an evening out with friends, you should consider a night at the theater seeing “The Comedy of Errors” at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. And while you are there try the Circe’s Cup cocktail! You’ll thank me!
More Details about “The Comedy of Errors” ::
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues with this season’s opening Shakespeare production of “The Comedy of Errors” playing November 21- December 13, 2014. For this production, Cincinnati Shakespeare is thrilled to welcome the Executive Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, Patrick Flick, to the director’s chair for the first time at CSC! The production features Cincinnati Shakespeare’s Resident Ensemble members including Jeremy Dubin, Paul Riopelle, Justin McCombs and Josh Katawick. The design is generously sponsored by Towne Properties.
“The Comedy of Errors” is Shakespeare’s earliest and wackiest comedy and features not one, but TWO sets of identical twins, leading to twice the confusion, and twice the fun. Twin masters Antipholus and Antipholus (Justin McCombs and Josh Katawik) and their twin servants Dromio and Dromio (Jeremy Dubin and Paul Riopelle), separated at birth and each unknown to the other, just happen to end up in the same town on the same day. What ensues is an increasingly unlikely string of misunderstandings and mistaken identities as the twins unintentionally wreak havoc on each other’s lives. Audiences will be doubled over with laughter at Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”.
The setting of Cincinnati Shakespeare’s production will be a stylish vintage carnival in a mythical seaside resort of “Ephesus” in America in the early 1930’s. The director, Patrick Flick says that “boater hats, bathing beauties and parasols share the stage with an assortment of carnival oddities. The play has a ‘storm that blows into town on a pleasant day’ sort of feeling so the ideas of magic, enchantment, wizardry and mistaken identities abound.” The design team, consisting of scenic and lighting designed by Andrew J. Hungerford and costumes designed by Noelle Wedig, will feature all the treatments of a classic carnival atmosphere from the beautiful to the grotesque. The stage will be populated by all the classic carnies; a gypsy fortuneteller, a half man/half women, the bearded lady, the strong man, carnival clowns, sword swallowers and more!
Performance & Ticket Information ::
Performances of “The Comedy of Errors” are scheduled from November 21- December 13, 2014 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm with an additional Saturday matinees on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13. Preview performances are on Wednesday Nov. 19 and Thursday Nov. 20 at 7:30pm and tickets are $21. No performance on Thursday Nov. 27. The theater is located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center. Single ticket prices range from $22-$32 on Thursdays and Sundays and from $26-$36 on Fridays and Saturdays. This show is a part of the 2014-2015 subscription season. If available, $14 student rush tickets may be purchased 30 minutes before a show with a valid student ID. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees may apply. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups as well as AAA members. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.
The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at 719 Race Street, Cincinnati. You can find important details about tickets, shows,parking and more on the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company website. And be sure to follow Cincy Shakes on Facebook! Cincy Shakes Photos by Mikki Schaffner
